His name was ahead of all the others on the Spring-Summer 2023 Fashion Week calendar. On Monday September 26 at 5 p.m., Victor Weinsanto opened Paris fashion week with his brand's third show.
The following day, the
Quotidien program
presented him as the “new prodigy of fashion”.
Friday, September 30, at the end of this week rich in emotions, he received us near his studio (and living space) in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
The young man is seated at his favorite terrace, a drink the same bright orange as his hair placed in front of him.
His features betray both the tension, which has not quite subsided, as well as the joy of the work accomplished.
It must be said that the 28-year-old designer can be proud of having, in just a few seasons, risen to the coveted rank of designer in sight.
And not just in the eyes of industry commentators.
Her daring pieces have already seduced Madonna, Olivia Rodrigo, found their place in the series
Emily in Paris
and in the show
Drag Race France
.
A dazzling trajectory for the one who was destined for the spotlight, but not for the podiums.
From the Bas-Rhin to the Parisian catwalks
Far from the Parisian seraglio, it was in Alsace that Victor Weinsanto was born, from a computer scientist father and a hospital executive mother.
No one around him works in a creative industry.
However, it was when he saw his mother and his sister dancing that he developed a passion for this art.
After the Conservatory, he rushes into an intense sports curriculum, which makes him travel but imprisons him in a rigor that does not suit him.
At 17, he finally returned to Strasbourg and became interested in fashion “a bit by chance”.
He sees in this practice the creative freedom that he did not find in dance.
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Kouglof bag and traditional headdress, Weinsanto invokes his region of origin during the
Hopla Geiss
fashion show .
(Paris, September 27, 2021.) Abaca
Sewing has never been so far: her mother and her maternal grandmother practice it.
And it turns out that Victor has an immense affection for his grandmother.
To the point of swapping his surname, Brunstein, his own when it comes to founding his brand: Weinsanto.
Her grandmother's voice will accompany her first show at Paris Fashion Week in September 2021. She can be heard pronouncing the name of the collection,
Hopla Geiss
, an expression that translates encouragement into Alsatian.
Family and roots: two leitmotivs for someone who left Alsace so early.
Saviors and good fairies
With his baccalaureate in hand, the young Victor entered the Atelier Chardon Savard school in Paris and multiplied his internships, notably at Y/Project, as an admirer of Glenn Martens.
Then enters the ranks of Jean Paul Gaultier, a few weeks before the latter's final parade.
During this internship, Victor Weinsanto prepares his first collection at night, and during the day, participates in the last of the one he calls "Monsieur": a mark of deference, tender, old-fashioned and specific to fashion houses, which he keeps of his experience.
He also forged ties there with the Grande Dame, a drag-queen who participated in the show (and would later wear one of her creations on the show
Drag Race France
).
A week after Gaultier's final salute, he presents what was to be a "crash test parade", a sort of portfolio, in an attempt to find a job.
We are at the beginning of March 2020 and seven days later, the first confinement changes the situation: “I said to myself: hiring is over.
As long as you do, you might as well create your own brand.”
That day, Victor Weinsanto manages to attract the attention of Adrian Joffe.
The influential companion of designer Rei Kawakubo holds the strings of Dover Street Market, a cutting-edge and prestigious concept store.
Appreciating the energy of this first fashion show called
Connes-sur-Mer
, and moved by the presence of his whole family, he offered him unexpected logistical and commercial support.
"Adrian was our savior" the creator remembers today.
Always accompanied by his parents, supported by his companion (modeling agent and accountant for the brand in his spare time), and by a team of young people for some hired after their internship, Victor Weinsanto goes headlong.
And luck smiled on him.
Journalist Loïc Prigent documents his first steps and Marylin Fitoussi,
Emily in Paris
, dresses actress Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu in one of her sultry dresses in season 1 of the series.
A remarkable look: the sales of this dress, as well as its denim pieces will put the brand on the rails.
Cabaret aesthetics and “awake” mode
On the catwalks, the Weinsanto label is synonymous with extravagance: a cabaret atmosphere, monumental hats and sexy (and diverse) silhouettes are the prerogative of the designer.
What inspires Victor Weinsanto?
He cannot give a precise example, speaks of flamboyant women and “ideas that make him laugh”.
Like that of parading his designer friend Charles de Vilmorin with his own drawings suspended above his head for the spring-summer 2023 show. His motivations are more precise: to give an image of Alsace "sexier than sauerkraut and the sausages".
He therefore makes his cultural heritage a playground, with pretzel harnesses, kelsh fabric and traditional headdresses revisited, notably in the
Hopla Geiss collection.
.
Translated into ready-to-wear, her vision of glorious femininity comes in pieces with architectural cuts, emphasizing the lines of the body.
They are hailed by the industry, with a place as a finalist for the LVMH prize in 2022. On the star side, among his followers, he counts Madonna, Daphne Burki or Bilal Hassani.
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Victor Weinsanto invites Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu to close his fall-winter 2022-2023 fashion show.
(Paris, February 28, 2022.) Abaca
Creative but far from insane, Victor Weinsanto has a strong opinion on fashion: “It's entertainment, dreamlike;
a political domain, because it represents an identity;
but also an unreasonable industry”.
From this follows, according to him, the mission of his generation of creators: “Ringardiser the system” by bringing each a little sense.
A movement in which he includes Kevin Germanier, Alphonse Maitrepierre, Benjamin Benmoyal, Charles de Vilmorin... All maintain friendly relations and help each other whenever they can.
The new scene is due to its good practices: using French materials, upcycled, made nearby, using transport with a lower C02 impact... The "value for money" always in mind, Victor Weinsanto is also pulling on his margins to limit their prices.
And advocates common sense: “If you buy yourself a piece, you can keep it for 3, 4 years, for life.
Today, we have lost the value of a garment, we buy pieces made for 3 cents on the other side of the world in frankly not terrible conditions;
suddenly, we lose sight of the fact that it is not normal to over-consume clothes.
If he does not consider himself irreproachable, the designer claims an “awakened” fashion.
And dreams of always having fun, whether it's with his label, as artistic director of a house -if the brand's speech speaks to him-, or even in a completely different field.
“The main thing is to have fun, so as not to have any regrets.
To be a wealthy creator in my ivory tower, no thank you.
